Three byelections tonight will test the momentum of the federal parties as they prepare for a national vote as early as the spring. The most dramatic battle, with the greatest potential to shake up the political scene, is in the north Toronto riding of Vaughan.

Retired lieutenant-colonel William Garrick is appearing today before the Military Police Complaints Commission. He says handovers of war prisoners to Afghan authorities didn’t set off any alarm bells in his mind.

Canadian diplomats in Washington have quietly asked oil-industry players such as Exxon Mobil and BP to help “kill” U.S. global- warming policies in order to ensure that “the oil keeps a-flowing” from Alberta into the U.S. marketplace, Postmedia News has learned.